Leicester City have been handed a boost in their bid to land their number one managerial candidate, but there is still uncertainty around an appointment.
With manager Enzo Maresca departing the club to takeover the vacant Chelsea job last week it has left Leicester City in a difficult position ahead of their return to the Premier League.
The Foxes had placed a lot of trust in Maresca given he had only had one senior manager role previously and it was repaid as they won the Championship with 97 points.
However, the jubilation of promotion quickly turned to panic as Maresca departed, with the club managerless just weeks before pre-season is set to commence.
An extensive search has taken place for Maresca’s replacement, with Carlos Corberan, Steve Cooper and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just some of the names mentioned.
It seems the club have chosen Graham Potter as their favourite, though, and the former Chelsea manager is said to have been ‘impressed’ by two things during talks.
Graham Potter ‘impressed’ amid Leicester City talks
Potter has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after just seven months in the job.
Up until that point, the 49-year-old’s managerial career had been a resounding success as he climbed the ranks from Osterstunds in Sweden to Swansea City and then to Brighton prior to being made Todd Boehly’s first managerial appointment at Chelsea.
The Stamford Bridge job is far from easy currently, as Maresca could be about to find out, and Mauricio Pochettino leaving the club after just one season is evidence that Potter may have had an impossible job at Chelsea.
The Telegraph have now reported that Leicester ‘will continue talks with Graham Potter this week’ and that he is ‘understood to have held detailed negotiations’ with the Leicester hierarchy.
The good news for the Foxes is that Potter has reportedly been impressed by both the set-up at the club as well as the current squad.
Potter still needs convincing to become Leicester manager
There is no hiding from the fact that any manager taking the reins at the King Power will be entering a job shrouded in uncertainty.
The club’s financial situation makes it a difficult sell to any prospective manager who will know they are unlikely to be able to spend much money on the squad and that a points deduction is very possible.
The Telegraph report that this is a factor in discussions with Potter, saying: ‘While Potter has been impressed with Leicester’s set-up and squad, he is still undecided on whether to take the job.
With Leicester facing a likely points deduction, after breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, and the prospect of players being sold before June 30, the role comes with huge uncertainty.’
It is understandable that a manager of Potter’s calibre may not want to agree to a role with so much up in the air and the fact that he is keen on the England job which could soon become available further complicates matters.
However, the squad was way too good for the Championship and is full of talent and perhaps that could persuade Potter to make his managerial return at Leicester.
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